Maiden of the Wind
by Swinelord
Summary: Wanting to become stronger after the Edolas incident, Wendy Marvell sets out on a training trip with a man she met two years before she joined Fairy Tail, the Second Toad Sage, Naruto Uzumaki. Years later, she returns to Fiore to find it in peril. Locked in a silent war between shinobi and mage kind and suffering from a sudden upsurge of dark mages, Fiore is in need of a hero.
1. Chapter 1: In Her Time of Need

**Maiden of the Wind**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: In Her Time of Need**

* * *

The Cait Shelter mages guild, a small little establishment located somewhere within Fiore's northern forests. Its members generally live peaceful lives with most, bizarrely, following somewhat out of the ordinary customs and traditions.

All save for one.

A girl hardly ten years of age was sitting alone with her companion at a bench not too far from the main guild building, which befitting of its name, resembled that of a large cat head. She was merely enjoying the weather, which at the time consisted of a mild warmth radiating from the midday sun, coupled with a refreshing breeze that drifted through the land.

The small white feline sleeping on her lap snored softly and she ran her hand through the fur of its rather large head. The human in this scene was Wendy Marvell, and the cat on her lap was referred to as Carla.

Nothing seemed truly out of the ordinary that day save for the occasional loud noise emanating from within the guild, yet even the various random noises were just an everyday occurrence. Like usual the courtyard was empty, usually, around this time her guildmates were either out on jobs or inside for one reason or another.

All was at it should've been that day.

That is until she heard a pair of frantic footsteps approaching from the forest. Turning just in time to see a man collapse by a tree, she jolted slightly at the unexpected sight.

Outsiders, she was never too familiar with them as she rarely ever left the guild. As a matter of fact, the only thing she really knew about them was that they dressed and acted a lot different than the members of her guild, and even then, specifics were unclear.

Still, he appeared to be in distress and, as a healer, she couldn't just ignore the natural instinct to help those in need. Even if she was scared half to death of this man simply because he existed.

She closed the distance between the two of them as quick as she could, kneeling beside the man upon reaching him.

"A-are you ok?" she stuttered out.

The man's clothes were torn but surprisingly, he had not a scratch on his face.

"Yeah... our camp got attacked a little while ago. The beast is dead now... ngh! But my friends need help!" he stuttered out through pained breaths.

"I-I know a few healing spells if that'll help!"

"Healing spells? B-but that's lost magic- n-nevermind! Please... my friends, are down that way, the camp is straight down there. W-when you get there, tell em Seth sent you!"

Wendy nodded and rushed off in the direction he was pointing, having thrown all caution to the wind.

The man watched her until she disappeared from his vision. When he was sure she couldn't see him, he grinned and stood up.

"Dumb kid," he muttered before turning to the guild. "Heh, now to have a few words with the head honcho-"

A rustle in the trees above him caught his attention. Dead silence followed.

"What the-"

*CRACK*

The sickening sound broke the silence and startled the local birds nested nearby. The sounds of dragging could be heard faintly amid the rapid flapping of wings.

* * *

Wendy came barreling out of the forest, stumbling over a some scattered rocks and branches and falling flat on her face in the process.

The campsites inhabitants were caught off guard and turned to one another for a brief moment. Collective smiles crossed their faces shortly after.

Pushing herself to her feet and dusting off her dress, she bowed and screamed at the top of her lungs, "I-I'M WENDY AND IM HERE TO HELP!"

The men began to circle around her with one whispering into the ear of another.

Wendy could faintly make out the word, "bait" but quickly discarded the thought. People needed her help!

Allegedly at least.

"U-um... could you p-point me to the hurt people?" she asked shyly, somewhat embarrassed by her earlier outburst.

"Lemmie guess, Seth sent you?"

"Yeah, that's right!"

"Heh, sick sonova bitch he is haha! I hate to break it to ya kid, but there are no wounded here."

"I-I don't understand."

"You will in a minute. Tie her up boys, the negotiations are bouta begin!"

Wendy's eyes widened at the proclamation. Before she could even turn to run, she found herself pressed up against the leg of a much larger, much more intimidating, and much more muscular man.

She spun around, stumbling backward in horror.

"You'd best hope your boss can satisfy our demands," the large man stated. "If not, we might just have to hurt ya real bad!" His tone had grown darker with every word, and his face loomed closer to hers as he approached her.

His rancid breath made Wendy want to vomit.

A terrible chill washed over Wendy as she watched the man brandish a rather rugged rope and reach towards her. Frozen in fear, she couldn't run even though she desperately wished to do so. Losing her footing, she tripped and fell on her rear.

She begged internally for someone to come save her, for master Roubaul and the others to come rushing in to save her. But, being this far out in the woods, and having told no one where she was going before setting out, she knew those chances were slim.

Wendy started to cry as she found herself being tightly wrapped within the rough rope line, its scratchy surface had begun to cut into her skin and breathing became difficult.

There was laughter from the men, then a brief silence as they all turned their heads to face the forest.

She hadn't heard or seen anything, her whimpering and refusal to open her eyes made that so. Then, the ropes were released.

Her eyes still held shut, she could only listen on in confusion and slight terror as the screams of the men filled the campsite. Various cracks and thuds, pathetic begging for mercy, and other general destructive noises were all she heard for a moment. And then there was silence.

Had master Roubaul come for her? Was it perhaps Carla? Or... was it something far worse than the men who just received what sounded like the most savage beatings of their lives?

The only way to find out was to open her eyes, and so she did, only to come face to face with a pair of vibrant blue eyes belonging to the face of a grinning young man.

"Whats up?" he said.

Wendy went to squeal only to be silenced by the man who quickly put a hand over her mouth.

"Whoa whoa! Hey, it's alright, I'm a good guy I promise!" he said, gently removing his hand. "Those guys sure were a bunch of jerks huh?"

Wendy averted her gaze, her face beaming red with embarrassment and discomfort. "I- um..."

The man frowned and stood up, having previously taken a knee. "Hey if I'm making ya uncomfortable then I'll just head out then! Nice to meet ya by the way!"

"W-wait!" she called after him, stopping him before he could fully turn to leave. "T-thank you!" she cried, bowing.

He grinned once again, knowing full well she wasn't going to let him leave so abruptly. "Hey don't mention it, kid. I just happened to be passing through when I saw that little scene go down and I just had to step in! I mean... what kind of awesome hero would I be if I didn't huh?"

She couldn't help but giggle at the exaggerated tone he adopted.

"By the way, the names Naruto, and you?"

"Wendy."

"Wendy huh? Well, Wendy, you ought to get back to your parents, I'm sure they're worried sick!"

"I um... don't actually have... I mean I do but-"

"Say no more, I get it. But uh, you have to be staying with someone. That building a little ways from here, that your home?"

Wendy nodded. "It's my home and my guild. I don't have any other place to stay."

"Ahh, well lemme walk you back to your guild then. I'll take care of these scumbags when you're safe and sound back at your guild, sound good?"

Wendy nodded once again, her expression now happy and relieved.

"Alright then! Let's get a move o- OOF!"

A trail of saliva came jutting from Naruto's mouth as a small mass came darting from the forest, into his gut. He landed flat on his back, eyes completely blanked out and drool seeping from his mouth.

"That'll teach you to abduct my dear Wendy, you ruffian! Come, let us return to the guild before he wakes!"

"Carla! H-he saved me!"

The small, flying white feline widened her eyes and looked to the mound of unconscious bodies piled up not too far from them, and the man strung up from the tree just beyond that.

"Oh my," she muttered before the blond started to come too.

"Oh... what happened."

The cat flew over to the confused man and offered a slight bow. "My sincerest apologies, it seems I regrettably... jumped the gun, so to speak."

"W-what the- you can fly!?"

"Yes, I can fly you ingrate! And don't shout so close, my ears are rather sensitive," Carla said rather snobbishly.

"Whoa cool!" Naruto stated before standing up and holding his hands behind his head, "Hey, hey, are you a summon? Sorry if I sound all excited, but man if you are a summon that'd REALLY take me back!"

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Oh... so you're just another magic creature thing. Jeez, magic is weird."

"Indeed. Now come Wendy, we must return before master Roubaul notices our absence."

Wendy nodded timidly and began to follow after the flying feline. She had just caught up with her when she turned back to look at Naruto who was still standing in the same place, arms behind his head and smiling. Her gaze softened into a smile of her own and she slowly waved goodbye, to which Naruto responded with a wave of his own.

"Catch ya around kid! Oh and don't go following strange men into forests next time!"

"I-I won't!"

When Wendy turned to face forward, Carla quickly flew in close to her face. "What a strange fellow. What in the world is a summon anyhow?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, but... he was really nice."

"Yes... too nice, and very strange and lacking any sort of manners. That aside, you ought to keep your guard up Wendy! Imagine if he DIDN'T come to your rescue, or if he had malicious intent! You might not be here right now!"

Her harsh tone proved to be too much for the girl whos frail frame was matched only by that of her very own confidence as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Hmph, crying doesn't help anything Wendy. Starting tomorrow I am going to give you a full rundown on the concept of stranger danger first thing in the morning!"

"A-alright," she said with a sniffle.

"Good... now let's find some tissues for those tears and get some food in that stomach. Come tomorrow morning following your lesson, we're going to be practicing your dragon-slaying arts, understand."

Upon hearing this she nodded. "Right!" she said, her expression, while still teary-eyed, was now brimming with a never before seen confidence.

Sadly it only lasted a mere second before she reverted back to her old demeanor.

Taken aback by this, Carla couldn't help but smile afterward. Despite the whole situation having been an overall negative experience for someone as young as Wendy, she couldn't help but feel as though it had helped her in some way.

Perhaps it had awakened a dormant fire within her, one that would help her become stronger.

A squeal followed by a thud brought Carla out of her thoughts. Turning to see Wendy lying face first on the ground, her foot barely inches away from a tiny pebble sticking out of the ground, the cat let out a sigh.

The aforementioned fire still remained to be seen.

* * *

 **Yo! I'm back after months of silence with a rewrite of my most recent story!**

 **So lemme just get this outta the way. Yeah, I deleted the stories I had on my profile mainly due to the fact that they were never going to be finished. "Liar Thief Hero?" was well... to my dismay, somewhat unenjoyable for me to read after so long. Maybe it was just me looking back on it and saying, "God why did I write this?" and truth be told I couldn't really stand it.**

 **So with that out of the way, here you have the start of the only story I'm going to be focusing on. Bear in mind that I'm pretty busy these days with work so I won't be able to get around to updating as often, but do know that I have given this story A LOT of thought these last couple of months and am finally ready to put it into words.**

 **Lemmie know if I'm a bit rusty as I've not really gotten around to practicing my writing as much as I would like.**

 **Just like always, I hope you enjoyed reading my stuff!**

 **Later...**

* * *

Next: **Chapter 2: The Sky Dragons Return**


	2. Chapter 2: The Sky Dragons Return

**Chapter 2: The Sky Dragons Return**

* * *

 **ERA, Council Lounge**

The council of Fiore, the governing force of the kingdom and the very group of individuals charged with overseeing and monitoring all guild activity. On this day, its members meet to discuss a plan of action to combat the recent upsurge of dark guild activity within the kingdom, as well as address another growing issue.

"Council of Fiore, we have gathered here to discuss the recent upsurge in dark guild activity in recent years," a commanding voice called from across the penthouse suite-like chamber the seven were situated in.

"You mean the meeting that should've taken place four years ago?" an equally loud voice remarked.

"Longer then that, we've known about the growing number of dark mages since before that whole incident with the black dragon. Truth be told, I thought we were just gonna ignore it," a female voice stated.

The initial voice spoke once more. "The situation as escalated to the point where we must intervene, mostly due to the fact that there are now TWO issues at hand."

"That being?" one of the councilmen that hadn't yet spoken threw in.

"The sudden increase in foreigner activity. As a neutral country with open borders these travelers are welcome... however, reports have come to our attention that they've been forming groups of sorts with one being found recently to possess illegal weaponry. I speculate that they were planning something heinous."

"What made that obvious? Was it the explosive slips of paper that killed several of the men we sent out to investigate that little 'society' forming in the Worth Woodsea? Or was it perhaps the fact that not a single one of them surrendered without a fight?" the woman spoke once again.

"To be fair, we did provoke them," another councilman remarked.

"I suggest we employ some classic, draconian torture techniques to get them to loosen up their tongues. We did manage to arrest one of them right?" an exceptionally large councilman suggested.

"Our specialists are hard at work attempting to squeeze information out of the prisoner, however, he has yet to utter a word. Whatever faction he belongs too has trained their soldiers well."

"He was a chakra user yes?" the large man stated.

"Yes."

"Have we confirmed if whether or not he is a shinobi. Perhaps we could escalate to Etherion-"

"We could, but we won't. Not until we have confirmation."

"I say shinobi in Fiore is confirmation enough," the woman said. "Let's look at the facts here Gran Doma, its no secret that the shinobi continent, the Elemental Nations, is dying. Word reaches us in recent years that this is happening and all of a sudden these foreigners utilizing ninja arts appear out of nowhere and start causing trouble? I hate to say it but we may have a war on our hands if we don't act!"

The man now known as Gran Doma hmm'd, and began to stroke his beard in thought.

"If I may," the large man interjected. "Let us wait and see where this goes. The dark guilds will have to take a backseat for now. If this does prove to be an issue, and we do have to take action, we had best be ready for the moment something happens. We can't go fighting a war on two fronts now, especially when that other 'front' is our own homeland."

Gran Doma sighed and looked to the view provided by a nearby window. These were dark times, it was almost as though the very life and soul of the kingdom died with that group of troublemakers.

He was starting to miss that band of ruffians.

"We shall discuss this once we have successfully extracted the information from the prisoner. For now, we must turn our attention to the dark guilds as they pose the biggest threat to the people."

"Shall we have the light guilds conduct a sweep of their respective hometowns?"

Gran Doma nodded. "From this day forward, all S-class wizards currently residing within Fiore are given the all clear to execute any suspected dark mage if need be as well as take in any suspected unregistered shinobi into custody. I will NOT be hearing about an unlawful shinobi death, understood?"

The room nodded.

"I expect word to be spread out across the land at this time tomorrow. This is top secret knowledge only for the elite, I don't want word reaching the public right away, understand?"

A series of nods caused Grand Doma to return with one of his own.

"Good. Dismissed!"

* * *

 **One Day Later...**

The view from the hill overlooking the grand town of Magnolia was currently occupied by a single figure. A young woman with a joyed expression whos long blue hair flowed freely with the passing breeze. She was considered short for most her age, standing at a mere five-six, and her general frame was thin.

Wendy hadn't grown much in height in the last five years and it still bugged her to this day.

A low humming noise emitted from within her shirt, followed by a voice. "Hey, this thing on? Helloooo! Wendy? You there?"

Pulling the source of the voice from her shirt, a blue crystal bound by a black band, she smiled and held the object close to her mouth. "Loud and clear master."

"Sweet!"

"Yeah. So, where are you now?"

"Somewhere at sea, I dunno. Can't see any sort of land at all anymore so I'm guessing we're a ways off. How bout you? You get home alright?"

"Yup just arrived in Magnolia."

"Good to hear kid. So, where you planning to stay?"

Wendy went to respond but remained silent.

"Wendy?"

"I'll figure it out. Last I heard, the actual guild was still around so not everyone was on that island when it happened. there's bound to be someone I know still here."

"Alright... well take care kid. Oh and just a heads up, word around the deck is that ninja aren't exactly welcome in Fiore as of late for some reason. Not sure what the big deal is but if I were you, I'd hold off on some of the things I taught you, or at least using them publically."

Wendy nodded knowing he wouldn't be able to see. "Got it."

"Right. Take care Wendy, I'll keep in touch, BELIEV-"

"Believe... what?" Wendy asked, smiling all the while.

"W-what are you talkin about?"

"Oh nothing," she said with a giggle. "Bye master!"

"Yeah... later."

With that, the connection abruptly closed leaving Wendy with the same amused smile. She then looked to the building in the distance, the old guild building. Fairy Tails base of operations still stood except, not a single banner or engraving bearing the mark of Fairy Tail could be seen. It looked like an ordinary town hall now.

She knew of the fate that befell her guild just before she left, having found out a full two years after the fact, however, the fate of what remained of the guild was a mystery. From the looks of things, they either had to relocate or were shut down.

Wendy hoped for the former.

* * *

The town was in an unusual state, or at least, a state she wasn't all too familiar with. As she recalled, Magnolia was both a tourist, traveler, merchant, and mage hotspot, however, the significant lack of people on the streets, despite there still being a considerable amount, was something to note.

Wendy walked down the roads, taking in the all too familiar atmosphere until she stumbled across something rather out-of-place a ways into the town. Sure it had been around five years since she last set foot in the town, but she felt as though she'd remember the large red building planted dead center within Magnolia. Even more so did she think she'd recognize the horrific face of the demon-like image dangling above its entrance had it been there before.

"So old man, you gonna pay up or what?"

Wendy turned to the commotion going on over by a small merchant stand. She recognized the man being yelled at by a pair of thugs as a fruit merchant she used to often pass by on her way to the train station. While they shared no special connection, seeing a somewhat familiar face being grilled in such a manner both peaked her interest and slightly annoyed her.

"But the deadline was set towards the end of the month! Its hardly been a week!"

"Yeah well, things change. Mr. Boss-man ain't too happy with all the deadbeats in this city so he thought he'd have us make an example outta the first person we saw!"

"So you would harass me? A defenseless old man? The absolute nerve! You lot at Twilight Ogre are nothing but a bunch of spineless cowards, nothing compared to Fairy Tail!"

"Shut up you old piece of shit," one of the men said, aggressively reaching out and grabbing the man by the collar. "If it wasn't for US you would've been put out of business a LONG time ago!"

"And whose fault is that? Who wants to visit a town where a group of thugs rule with an iron fist? Tch, you call yourself guild mages? The very thought of referring to you lot as anything more then a band of petty criminals is laughable!"

"Oh you old rat, you don't know how big of a mistake you've just made." The man cocked his fist back to strike at the elderly man. "Lights out old-timer!"

The old man braced himself for an attack that never came. Upon opening his eyes, he was met with the shocked expression of the thug holding him by the collar, and the equally baffled one of his lackey who was standing at his side. Preventing the man's fist from moving any further, was Wendy, whose outstretched hand tightly gripped the thug's arm.

"Picking on old people? That's low," she stated before, with a force that surprised the thug, shoved him back hard enough to trip him up and stumble onto his rear.

The thug stood and dusted himself off, his expression absolutely filled with anger.

"Little girl, you don't know what you just did. We aren't gonna let up just cause you're some kid!"

'Oof,' she thought, lamenting the fact that she still bore such an incredibly youthful image. 'Am I really that short?'

"Hey! You ignorin me?"

Wendy didn't respond.

The leader sneered and pulled his partner off to the side before whispering in his ear.

The other man hesitantly stepped forward and walked to his partner's side, a comically large club in hand.

Wendy frowned as she watched the armed man lunge at her. Sidestepping his attack with ease, she planted her fist into his stomach, completely winding and dropping him to his knees.

"Take your friend and get out of here," Wendy demanded. "I may not like you, but I... I don't want to hurt you."

"Tch! You'll pay for this!" the man said before fleeing the scene, leaving his comrade on the ground to writhe in agony.

Wendy let out a deep sigh and knelt down to level with the man. Reaching out to his stomach, her hands were enveloped in a faint blue light that slowly began to die as time went on. Eventually, the man stopped struggling and he, upon seeing Wendy, scooted back in a panic.

"Get out of here," she demanded, causing the man to flee, leaving his weapon behind.

The merchant breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness you arrived when you did miss?"

"Wendy, I actually used to be a mage at the Fairy Tail guild."

"Wendy huh... come to think of it, you do look a tad familiar. Yeah, that's right, you were always accompanied by that talking white cat were you not?"

Wendy nodded with a smile, only for that smile to turn into a look of worry.

"Whats the matter?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"I see. Well anyways, thank you for getting me out of that mess."

"No problem! Um... but if it wouldn't be too much to ask, could you tell me why they were after you?"

The man shook his head. "Isn't it obvious? They're scum somehow able to operate as a 'guild'. Arrogant punks, been only gettin worse since they ran Fairy Tail out of business."

Wendy widened her eyes in shock. "W-what?"

"Yeah. They came to Magnolia shortly after Fairy Tail took that hit. Slowly but surely they began to lose members until one day they hit rock bottom. It was then that Twilight Ogre came into the picture with an offer to keep the guild afloat so long as they paid off what they owed over months at a time. Eventually, that debt proved to be too much for the guild and eventually, Fairy Tail had to disband."

Wendy grit her teeth, barely able to contain her anger.

"And to think those fiends are still trying to squeeze every last penny out of the ex-guild mages. Some of them were even run out of town because of them!"

Wendys features darkened, her bite now pushing harder than before. "That's," she began before turning her enraged gaze to the red building looming down the road, "absolutely disgusting."

"Don't do anything hasty kid. Twilight Ogre recently got a huge boost in numbers. Rumor has it they're taking anyone these days, be it dark mages or shinobi, they don't care, so long as they prove to be strong."

"I'll be fine. Right now, I need to have a word with their guild master."

"A "talk" or a talk?"

"Just a chat. I want to know why he thinks its right to do this to people... especially to my friends."

"Alright... good luck then kid."

* * *

The Twilight Ogre guild building stood tall and bore an imposing aura about it that made Wendy sigh. More then likely this would turn violent, just like every situation like this that she had gotten herself into in the last few years.

She pushed the doors open, finding them much lighter then they appeared, and stepped inside without hesitation.

The guild was rather normal compared to what she was used too. The guild mages seemed to prefer ordinary conversation over guild-wide brawls, which to be fair, wasn't what she was expecting at all. Another surprise was the amount of traffic the main desk was getting, which in of itself, having a 'main desk', was another surprise.

Wendy looked to the second floor to find it occupied with even more guild mages and potential shinobi. By now, she was convinced that this place had a much higher member population then Fairy Tail ever did. There was also a high presence of gold throughout the building, from gold busts to gold trimming lining the walls with all sorts of swirly decorations.

Just how successful were they?

She made it to the guild masters office without incident. Things were going a lot smoother than she initially thought they would.

Before she could even knock, a voice came from the other side. "If ya ain't one of my mages, talk to the lady at the desk. If you got no business with the guild then BEAT IT!"

Wendy frowned at the hostile response and opened the door anyway.

"What the-" the man at the desk, a short, pudgy individual with a rather oddly shaped jaw began, baffled. "I said le-"

"Sorry, I just want to talk," she stated, softening her voice.

"Tch, well make it quick then kid. I don't got time to waste dealing with... wait a minute, that mark there, that's-"

Wendy looked at her exposed shoulder, then back to the man. "My guild yeah, but that's not why I'm here."

"Too bad, you have that mark, you gotta pay your share of the debt."

"What even is 'the debt' anyway?" she asked, crossing her arms and glaring at the man.

"That's not important. What is important is that you lot, ex-mages or not, owe us a lot of money."

"I think you're lying."

"Prove it."

Wendy went silent for a moment before she shook her head and moved closer to the desk. "Let's change the subject, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Pay up and I-"

"Why do you think its right to just harass people?" she snapped, cutting him off.

"What?"

"You heard me. That old merchant you sent your goons after, do you think its funny to extort money from defenseless people? Is that how you get your sick kicks?"

"Girl if you don't-"

"Guilds are supposed to protect the towns and cities they're built in, not extort them for all they're worth. Is this a guild or a band of criminals?"

"LISTEN, KID, I don't need to hear SHIT from you, some little BITCH that came outta NOWHERE from some DEAD GUILD!"

A sigh escaped her mouth. "Calm down, I haven't even done anything to you."

"Oh, but you have. Its clear to me that YOU were the one who took out one of my boys, that's money you cost me right there. Worst of all is that now you're just wasting my time!"

"So you don't even care about your mages then? And you call yourself a guild master!" she cried in disgust.

"BOYS get her out of here!"

Wendy locked eyes with the man causing him to grow nervous.

Two men approached from behind and went to grab her when she, without so much as a twitch, said, "Don't touch me."

The men hesitantly complied.

"You're sick, you're nothing but a coward. Can you even use magic, or are you just some businessman with a whole lot of nerve?"

By now, the man was fuming. Not only were his men not following his orders, but here this girl stood, seemingly unfazed by the fact that she was essentially surrounded by mages under his command. Who was this random mage anyway? To his knowledge, she had never been present whenever they took trips to their guild, and even then, had she actually been there all those years, why is she just now fighting back?

"I guess I'll just leave now. I've got my answers."

"You... aren't leaving here, not in one piece."

"Don't do it," she said, her voice bearing an almost empathetic tone.

"Tch, whos the coward now!?"

"Still you, I just don't want to hurt anyone."

"DAMNIT YOU TWO, JUST HIT HER OR SOMETHING!"

The men complied without hesitation this time, throwing their fists at the girl with a considerable amount of power.

Wendy frowned and shifted her body ever so slightly. The men had, unwittingly, thrown their punches in each other's direction and upon missing their target by a hairline, ended up embedding their fists into each other's guts. A resounding impact echoed throughout the room.

They fell to the floor, foaming out the mouth and twitching.

"W-what the... you IDIOTS!"

Wendy looked to the men apologetically before turning to face the guild master. "Alright, so Mr. Businessman. Are you gonna man up and do what a guild master should do, or are you just going to sit there while your children squirm on the ground in pain?"

"You little shit!" he cried before noticing the crowd that had since formed at the door behind them.

Meanwhile, one amongst the crowd who was watching from near the front, couldn't help but smirk.

He stood at an average height, blending in well with the crowd. He had dark hair and features that most women would consider to be 'handsome'. His cloak did little to conceal the blade at his hip, and he proudly wore a metallic headband across his forehead. Engraved upon it was a peculiar symbol, one resembling a spiral ending in a trail. Looking at it a certain way, one might even say it resembled a leaf.

The most notable thing about him was his eyes. Red with a wheel-like pattern made up of four dots, one in the center, and three spaced out evenly around it.

'Smart,' he thought, crossing his arms as his menacing eyes began to decolor into a shade of black. 'Enhancing their physical strength to immense levels only moments before they made contact. No doubt about it, that must be her.'

"I'll just leave now," Wendy said before turning to the crowd and starting forward, towards the still open main doors.

"G-GET HER DAMNIT!" the guild master cried as he frustratedly watched as his mages stepped aside to let her pass. "SOMEONE, STOP THAT LITTLE- GAH! GOD DAMNIT!"

She didn't spare so much as a glance at the man, even as he began to throw a wide variety of insults and profanities her way.

Few people could make her feel rage. It took a special kind of scum to make her instigate conflict. In truth, she deeply wished that he tried something back there, just so she could have an excuse to retaliate.

* * *

Next **: Chapter 3: The Hawks of Sabertooth**


	3. Chapter 3: The Hawks of Sabertooth

**Chapter 3: The Hawks of Sabertooth**

* * *

 **Twilight Ogre -Guild Master's Office**

A flash of lightning from the raging storm illuminated the room, revealing the snarling guild master and two much larger, much more burly, men. It had been a solid twenty minutes, and the stubby man showed no signs of letting up on his continuous rant.

"This is absolutely unacceptable!" the shrill cry of Twilight Ogre's guild master sounded throughout his office. The two cowering men standing before him were sweating bullets, terrified by the sheer fury of their master. "No one talks down to Banabooster! NO ONE! YOU'RE THE COWARD LITTLE GIRL, YOU'RE *jump* THE *jump* DAMN *jump* COWARD! WAAAHH!"

"Boss," one of the men began, unwittingly becoming the target of the stubby little man's unbridled fury. "Err... you might wanna... wipe your fa-"

"SHUT UP YOU IDIOT! I'm not crying, you are! YOU ARE!"

"Jeez boss, you're really gonna let some little girl bring you to tears like that?"

"What was that numbskull? Sounds like you two and your families wanna be publically shamed come the next harvest festival!"

Both men subconsciously reached for their groins before giving a simultaneous, "Sorry boss".

"SHUT UP AND GET OUT!" he cried causing the two men to comply. The moment the door shut he reached for an orb sitting beneath his desk and held it at eye level. "I'll show that little witch!"

There was silence, then a faint hum began to emit from the orb as it began to glow. A shadowy figure appeared only moments after, his arms crossed and lower face contorted into a sneer.

 _"What do you want?"_ he snapped.

"I NEED SOMEONE DEAD! YOU HEAR ME!? DEAD, DEAD, DEAD, DEAAAAAD!"

 _"Alright, you know the price. Just send it in the usual place along with a picture of-"_

"Yeah about that... I kinda don't have a picture of her. B-but I do have a name to go off of! One of my boys tells me her names Wendy Marvell, an ex-Fairy Tail mage. That enough info for ya?"

 _"Hmm... it is, actually. The Sky Dragonslayer... to think Fairy Tail still had some key members still kicking. Hehe, this is gonna be fun."_

"Yeah, yeah, JUST KILL HER! I'll pay you lot double the usual!"

The man chuckled darkly. _"Fun AND profitable? We're in."_

* * *

 **The Following Morning...**

Wendy yawned and sat up from her little spot nestled between two dumpsters in a dark, musty, vermin-infested, ally-way. It wouldn't have been her first choice, but when the rain came the night before, the shelter provided by the overarching rooftop where she sat looked mighty appealing after a solid two minutes of prowling about the city, in the rain, looking for a place to stay.

One rodent encounter later and that settled it. She needed a place to stay, somewhere cheap (preferably free), to bunk down, or at least find a way to sustain herself. It would be pretty tough to find a job in Magnolia seeing as her only real talents revolved around mage work, and despite her prowess in healing, she highly doubted that the hospital would be fine with some inexperienced, teenaged girl, working on their patients.

She would have to think on this at another date, for now, a home was her top priority.

Fairy Tail was gone and Twilight Ogre sure as hell wasn't going to let her in after that little stunt she pulled, one she now regretted in hindsight.

She stepped out onto the road and looked to the canal before her. As if on cue, a familiar man operating a gondola came drifting by, waving and smiling.

That sight reminded her, Lucy's old place was nearby.

Now she wasn't expecting anyone to be home, however, she decided she would give the place a visit anyway.

She walked until she came by what she hoped was the place. The surrounding buildings all looking nearly identical made it tricky to point it out, however, thanks to her many varied trips to the place during her relatively short time with Fairy Tail, she was able to recognize the few kinks here and there that let the building stand out.

Upon entering the building, she was greeted by a man, one whom she didn't recognize as being affiliated with the place. As she recalled, the apartments were owned by a couple and their child.

She approached the desk and made her presence known to the man by clearing her throat.

He looked at her and smiled. "Oh, how may I help you ma'am?" he asked politely.

"Hi, would you happen to have any vacancies?"

"Err... one, but... well-"

"Whats wrong?"

"That ones got a bit of a... history so to spea- hey wait a minute! That mark on your arm!"

Wendy smiled. "Yup, I'm a Fairy Tail mage, or at least I was..."

"Oh yeah... uh sorry about what happened, miss. Um, if you don't mind me asking, did you know the girl that used to stay with us? The Fairy Tail one I mean."

"Yeah."

"Ahh, well, if you want that that room we've got a deal on it since it was hers... um, five thousand jewel monthly sound alright?"

That was a steal, especially since she recalled Lucy's original rent being somewhere around sixty grand a month, in fact, one might even say it was her favorite thing to complain about. Not wanting to linger on it any further, she reached into her pockets knowing full well that she didn't have any money and gave a nervous grin reminiscent to that of her master.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you had a place available. Right now I actually don't have any money," she said with a chuckle.

"Oh well, hows about a favor then?"

"A favor?"

"Yeah, and in exchange, we'll give you the room free of charge, for a month, hows that sound?"

"Alright! So whats the favor?"

"You remember the old lady who lives just outside the city? The one affiliated with Fairy Tail, pink hair, kinda mean?"

"Heard about her, yeah. Met her? No. I never actually got the chance to what with all the crazy things that happened since I joined Fairy Tail."

"Well, she's a healer of sorts, as you might already know, more of an apothecary in a sense. There's an elixir she brews for my parents every so often that allows them to move and work like they're twenty years younger. It typically lasts for a month or two, but recently it seems to have worn off. Now they can't really get out of bed without breaking something."

"So, you want me to get this elixir for you then?"

"Please?"

Wendy nodded. "No worries then! Just point me where I need to go because well... I have no clue how to find her honestly."

The man nearly collapsed where he stood upon hearing this. "Yikes... well uh, you know anyone that may?"

"You don't know?"

"Fraid not."

"What about your parents?"

"Usually they have someone deliver it for them. Up until recently, an ex-Fairy Tail mage like yourself used to be kind enough to take the job for us but... well we haven't seen him in over a month now."

"Alright then, I'll get to it right away. Someone in Magnolias bound to know where she is right?"

The man breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh thank you! You don't know how much this'll help us out!"

"No problem! Just remember to keep that room open for me until I get back yeah?"

"Right, right! Good luck!"

* * *

Wendy collapsed on the park bench out of both frustration and mild exhaustion. She had been frantically running around the town, asking for the whereabouts of the 'Woman who lives in the woods', she couldn't even get a name. It was as though Fairy Tail had kept her location a secret. Now that she looked back on it, she was told that the woman in question absolutely despised visitors, and humans in general.

On a side note, the human part threw her for a loop for the longest time until she just decided that she didn't really care enough to figure out what that meant.

It had been twelve-ish hours since she set off and after numerous attempts to gather information to no avail, she was about ready to give up.

'You know what I like about you? You're like me! You never give up, no matter the stakes!'

Her master's words echoed in her mind causing her to sigh.

The unfortunate truth was, she was morally obligated not to give up in this situation for the simple fact that she knew her master wouldn't approve of such thoughts.

She looked to the sky, noting that it would be nighttime soon. The faint glow of dusk, the beautiful orange glow that illuminated half of the sky, kept her mind at ease. She often enjoyed these moments, mainly because this was around the time her training would cease.

A cold breeze swept across the park as Wendy took in a deep breath of air and let it out.

Searching for the woman now would more than likely prove to be a waste of time. A fresh start in the morning would suffice, however, that meant she had to endure another day of being homeless. It didn't help that she hadn't eaten anything since she arrived.

Her stomach growled.

'Good going, me. 'No worries master, I'll find a way to support myself! Its the least I could do after all you've done for me,' she mentally mimicked herself. "Me and my stupid mouth, I should've just taken the money he offered, and now I'm over here regretting it big time!'

The sound of approaching footsteps went ignored by Wendy as she figured it was just someone passing by.

*Chick* *Chack*

One after the other they grew closer, louder, slower...

Still, she paid them no mind.

When they stopped directly next to her, she decided to acknowledge the newcomer, a tall man likely in his late twenties. In fact, he looked to be around the same age as Naruto.

What alarmed her, aside from the fact that a complete stranger being cloaked from head to toe in a black garb that was also leering at her, was the sword he made no effort to conceal at his waist.

On edge, she asked, "Who are you?"

He continued looking at her, as if sizing her up, mentally locking her into a fierce staring match. His gaze made her feel as though he were picking apart every little detail about her, scanning for weaknesses, trying to find an opening, or perhaps even... all of the above.

"Your shoes are untied."

Wendy looked down. She was wearing sandals.

"Heh, well whaddya know, that Naruto guy was right, you are gullible," he said, his voice having completely changed.

"Huh!?"

Just then, a completely identical version of the man materialized behind him and delivered a fierce blow to his head, sending him crashing into the ground.

"HUH!?" Wendy cried, even more, confused now than before.

"Suigetsu, quit acting like a child," the doppelganger stated.

The man on the ground rubbed his head and grinned, revealing shark-like teeth, unfitting for his face. "Jeez Sasuke, learn how to have a little fun would ya?" he said before exploding into a cloud of smoke.

"WHAT!?"

The smoke cleared slowly, revealing a white-haired man with a massive sword on his back, replacing the smaller one from before. He stood and dusted himself off before engaging in a one-sided argument with the man now known as Sasuke.

"SUIGETSU!" a female voice cried from a distance causing Wendy to turn her attention to the growing mass in the distance. Within the span of a few seconds, a red-haired woman came rushing in like a wild bull, drop kicking the sharp-toothed man upon her arrival. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO DO IT, IDIOT!"

Sasuke sighed.

"What the hell was that for you bitch?" Suigetsu cried as he pushed himself off the ground once again.

"For acting like a dumbass you prick!"

"Enough," Sasuke demanded before turning to Wendy. "Sorry about those two-"

"DIE!"

"ACK! JUGO!" the woman cried as she pointed to the rapidly descending meteor in the sky.

"BWAHAHAAHA! KILL, SLAUGHTER, DESTROY!"

The woman and Suigetsu screamed in unison as the man came crashing down, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.

"Calm him down, Karin," Sasuke stated as if this was simply business as usual.

The dust cleared, revealing Jugo attempting to slam a massive, deformed arm into Suigetsu's chest, who was currently using all his strength to hold it back.

Karin was latched onto his back, frantically searching her pockets until she pulled out a syringe. "J-just, hold still Jugo!"

"DIE!"

"GAH! Hurry Karin!"

"I'm ngh... trying damnit! ACK! HE HEADBUT ME!"

Sasuke let out a breath. "Ignore them," he began, "I need to talk to you about something."

"BWAHAHAHA! SUIGETSUUUUU!"

"J-jugo! C-can't, breathe..."

"I've got you now!" Karin cried as she leaped high into the air, syringe in hand. She was hardly a few feet from her mark when she was comically swatted like a fly, sending her flying back into the sky.

Wendy's jaw dropped as she watched the woman soar, before turning to Sasuke just in time to see him irritatedly walk over to the beastly man, seemingly to deal with the issue himself.

The wild man known as Jugo swung his deformed arm at Sasuke as hard as he could. Upon seeing this, Wendy was about to step in out of instinct only to freeze in place at the sound of a heavy impact of flesh on flesh.

Sasuke stood, motionless and calm, holding Jugos massive arm in one hand and a syringe, similar to the one the red-headed woman had from before, in the other, stabbed into the raging man's neck.

"Its that simple," Sasuke stated, before retracting the needle and pocketing it.

"Tch, showoff," Suigetsu said before pulling himself off the ground.

Jugo frowned and turned to Sasuke, holding his head in pain. "I'm... sorry about that Sasuke. I figured I could catch up to Suigetsu with a little 'boost' but... it seems I lost control over my transformation."

"Just don't let it happen again."

"Right."

Sasuke then approached Wendy, who was still glued in place, and began just as Karin managed to reach the group in time for a snapshot-worthy. group image of the four. "We need to talk."

* * *

Wendy tore through the roasted boar with all the etiquette of a starving bear, which wasn't that far off from how she felt pre-meal. It didn't take much to convince her to return to camp with the four. The promise of food coupled with her intuition, which didn't play nearly as large a factor as the former, was all it took to get her to tag along.

The clearing was surrounded by trees with five logs placed in a circle around a small fire. Each person present sat at their own logs save for Sasuke, who opted to lean against a tree while the group had their meal.

"Jeez, save some for me would ya? Aww man, and chew with your mouth closed kid!" The shark-toothed man cried as he wiped a piece of stray food from his cheek.

Wendy swallowed and flashed a grin that would make her teacher proud. "Hehe, sorry about that! I just haven't eaten in... hmm, a little over twenty-four hours?"

Karin sighed. "Ignore him. He's just our mandatory group idiot. Complete dead weight if you ask me-"

"AHH SHUT YOUR TRAP KARIN! IF I'M THE IDIOT, THEN YOU'RE OUR GROUPS USELESS HARPY!"

"OH YEAH? WELL IF I'M SO USELESS THEN DON'T COME CRYING TO ME THE NEXT TIME YOU NEED HEALING, CAPICHE!?"

"AS IF! YOU AREN'T DESERVING OF ANOTHER HICKY FROM ME!"

"SUIGETSU!"

'A w-what!?' Wendy's innocent mind thought as she went into a state of mental overload at the thought.

Sasuke took a seat on a log, next to Wendy, prompting her to look at the man.

Reaching into his pocket, he began to fumble his hand around until he pulled out a small, blue crystal, one similar to the one Naruto gave her.

"T-thats..." she mumbled, checking to see if hers was still around her neck.

"I'm just showing you this in case theirs any distrust between us. Me and your master go way back, all the way until our days as fresh-out-of the academy genin. He was the one who told me you'd be here."

"I see. So, who are you guys anyway?"

Sasuke pocketed the crystal and rested his arms in his lap. "Our group name is 'Taka', we're a squad of shinobi from the Sabertooth guild, and one of the few to have ever been accepted into a guild in general. The woman there is Karin, the one with the sword is Suigetsu, and the one skulking back there is Jugo. As for me, my name is Sasuke Uchiha, I'm the leader of the group."

"I can see that," Wendy said as she recalled his earlier display of strength. "So you said you wanted to talk about something?"

"Yeah," Sasuke began, gazing into the campfire. "It's about your guild, Fairy Tail."

"What about them?"

"I assume you know what happened to them right?"

Wendy somberly nodded.

Sasuke turned to Wendy and leaned forward. "Look I'm just gonna cut to the chase here, this is going to sound a bit unbelievable and sudden, but... what if I told you that there was a chance that... they could still be alive?"

Wendy shot up upon hearing this. "W-what are you saying!? That dragon destroyed the whole island remember?"

Sasuke went silent.

Having grown suspicious at this, Wendy glared at the man. "Is this... some sort of cruel prank?"

"I'm being serious. Your friends could still be alive."

"Prove i-"

"This," Sasuke said as he held up a pendant before she could finish. It emitted a faint blue glow, one that mesmerized Wendy with its majesty. "This is something similar to what you Naruto and I have, however, rather then it being a communications Lacrima, this detects the life force of the other who wields its twin. This glow tells me that sh-" he paused. "They're most likely still alive."

Suigetsu looked ready to say something but was silenced by Sasuke's glare.

Having caught on to what he planned to say, she went silent and let him continue.

"The reason I need your help is because... well, you are literally the only Fairy Tail mage left, at least to my knowledge. Everyone who wasn't on that island moved on after the guild was shut down."

"Is that the only reason?"

"There's more to it than it seems, but that'll have to wait until I can confirm that they really ARE alive."

Wendy tilted her head in confusion and was disappointed to see that Sasuke didn't look eager to tell her why he had his apparent doubts.

Luckily for her, Karin was willing to answer. Leaning in close to Wendy, she whispered, "See, the glow only came back to the pendant around a week ago. Before that, we, just like everyone else, thought they were gone too."

Wendy nodded and looked to Sasuke who had the pendant clutched tightly in his hand. Before she could say anything, he stood up and faced the group.

"We're leaving."

"Say what? But I'm tir-"

"Zip it Suigetsu."

"Jackass..."

At that, the group started to pack up with Jugo and Suigetsu eventually heading forward ahead of the group. Sasuke stayed behind and approached Wendy one last time.

"In exactly one month from now, I want you to meet us at our guild, Sabertooth. By then I should have things figured out."

"..."

"Is that fine with you?"

"Yeah, I guess. If it means seeing them again then I'll... I'll do just about anything!"

"Good to hear," Sasuke said before heading off, leaving Karin and Wendy behind.

The duo watched until he walked just out of earshot.

Upon seeing this, Wendy turned back to Karin and asked, "So, who did the other pendant belong too?"

"I don't think he'd appreciate me saying. All I can tell you is that he was so... broken when it happened."

Wendy turned back to what remained of the boar, her appetite suddenly having dissipated.

After saying goodbye to the red-headed woman, Wendy sat up against one of the logs and stared into the fire, her mind preoccupied with Sasuke's words. It didn't matter if he was telling the truth or not. Simply put, she really would do anything to see her friends again.

Anything.

* * *

 **So I decided to Re-write chapter 3 after thinking long and hard about where I actually wanted to take the story. The best course of action was to just re-plan the first arc of the story so I had to switch things up a bit. Sorry for the month-long wait by the way... not sure if an apology will make up for it but here you go, have it anyway.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading!**

* * *

 **Next: Chapter 4: The Woman of the Woods**


	4. Please don't despise me yeah?

**I'm gonna keep this short alright.**

 **So, I'm gonna do something I've never, ever done before despite what I may or may not have said in the past. I'M** **GONNA WRITE A DRAFT FOR ONCE! WOW, WHAT A GOOD IDEA RIGHT? IT'S TOTALLY NOT A VITAL PART OF WRITING ANY SORT OF LITERATURE AT ALL HUH!?**

 **Honestly, there's nothing more frustrating then contracting the age-old disease of writer's block, especially when the concepts and story elements you cooked up are so god damn clear in your head you can almost taste them.**

 **Frankly, I'm losing my damn mind.**

 **So, I figured it'd be best to just write the story out before posting like I, and many others, probably should, rather than just toss out the story and hope for the best yeah? Smart huh?**

 **Jokes aside, I'm just gonna go ahead and vanish again. You won't be seeing a post from me for however long it takes for me to finish this story so... yeah!**

 **Goodbye!**

 **Also on a side note... does the Naruto x Fairytail community feel kinda empty? I dunno what it is, it just feels different from a few years back you know?**


End file.
